This invention generally relates to the art of fiber optic transmission and, particularly, to a fiber optic connector module.
Fiber optic connectors of a wide variety of designs have been employed to terminate optical fiber cables and to facilitate connection of the cables to other cables or other optical fiber transmission devices. A typical fiber optic connector includes a ferrule which mounts and centers an optical fiber or fibers within the connector. The ferrule may be fabricated of such material as ceramic. A ferrule holder or other housing component of the connector embraces the ferrule and may be fabricated of such material as molded plastic. A spring may be disposed within the housing or ferrule holder such that the ferrule is yieldably biased forwardly for engaging another fiber-mounting ferrule of a mating connector device.
A pair of fiber optic connectors or a connector and another optical fiber transmission device often are mated in an adapter which centers the fibers to provide low insertion losses. The adapter couples the connectors together so that their encapsulated fibers connector end-to-end. The adapter may be an in-line component, or the adapter can be designed for mounting in an opening in a panel, backplane, circuit board or the like.
Various problems continue to be encountered in designing fiber optic connector assemblies or other connector assemblies, including applications involving backplanes, motherboards, daughterboards and the like. U.S. Pat. No. 6,361,218, dated Mar. 26, 2002, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and which is incorporated herein by reference, shows a fiber optic connector module which is a very simple design and solves some of the problems of the prior art. However, problems still exist in aligning the ferrules of mating fiber optic connectors in adapters or other fiber optic connector devices. Specifically, if a fiber optic connector module is tilted or skewed within its fiber optic connector, even to a small extent, the ferrule which is fixed within the module will tilt or skew therewith. Therefore, the flat mating face at the front end of the ferrule will be at an angle to the flat mating face of the ferrule of the mating connector, and transmission losses may occur. The present invention is directed to solving these problems by allowing the ferrule to tilt relative to the module housing and, thereby, maintain a flush front face abutment of the ferrule with the ferrule of the mating connector.
An object, therefore, of the invention is to provide a new and improved fiber optic connector module of the character described.
In the exemplary embodiment of the invention, the fiber optic connector module includes a ferrule terminated to at least one optical fiber. The ferrule includes a forwardly facing latch surface and a rearwardly facing abutment surface. The ferrule is mounted in a manually manipulatable housing which includes a front portion encapsulating the ferrule and a rear portion extending rearwardly of the front portion for manual grasping by an operator.
The front portion has an open front end through which the mating end of the ferrule projects, and an open rear end through which the optical fiber extends. Latch means are provided on the front portion of the housing engageable with the forwardly facing latch surface on the ferrule for holding the ferrule encapsulated in the housing. A forwardly facing abutment surface engages the rearwardly facing abutment surface on the ferrule. The forwardly facing abutment surface on the housing is convexly rounded so that the ferrule can tilt relative to the housing.
According to one aspect of the invention, the ferrule includes an outwardly projecting peripheral flange, and the forwardly facing latch surface is defined by a front edge of the flange. The latch means is provided by a pair of latch arms engageable with the front edge at opposite sides of the ferrule. The rearwardly facing abutment surface is defined by a rear edge of the flange. In the preferred embodiment, a pair of the convexly rounded, forwardly facing abutment surfaces are provided at opposite sides of the housing engageable with the rear edge of the peripheral flange.
Other features of the invention include the convexly rounded abutment surface being provided on a flexible arm past which the ferrule is inserted into the housing through the open rear end thereof. In addition, the housing defines a front-to-rear axis extending between the front and rear portions thereof. The rearwardly facing abutment surface on the ferrule is a generally flat surface extending transversely of the axis.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.